NEW DELHI: At least 80 per cent children in India between the age group of 14-18 years reported lower levels of learning during COVID-19 pandemic than when physically at school, according to a UNICEF report.

“School closures in South Asia have forced hundreds of millions of children and their teachers to transition to remote learning in a region with low connectivity and device affordability. Even when a family has access to technology, children are not always able to access it. As a result, children have suffered enormous setbacks in their learning journey,” George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, said.

In India, 42 per cent of children between 6-13 years reported not using any type of remote learning during school closures.

“This means they have not used any of the following for remote learning since the schools shut down: textbooks, worksheets, phone or video calls, WhatsApp to access materials or connect with teachers, learning programmes on radio or TV, YouTube videos, video classes, learning applications, home visits by teachers and private tuitions, community teaching at local locations, other websites,” the report said.

The research found that student-teacher engagement, when regular and reciprocal, is a strong predictor of success in children’s learning, especially for younger students.

However, the surveys found that most students had little or no contact with their teachers after the schools closed.

“At least 42 per cent of students aged 5-13 years and 29 per cent of students aged 14-18 years are not in touch with their teachers at all,” it said.

The UNICEF called upon the governments to prioritise safe reopening of all schools while also ensuring that children are able to pursue quality learning remotely if necessary.

Assessment of learning levels and ensuring catching up by students, vaccination of teachers and support staff, expanding investments in education, working with private sector and civil society organisations in improving connectivity and creating high-quality, preparing multilingual remote learning content tailored to students’ needs, are among the recommendations made in the report.

“The safe reopening of schools must be considered on utmost priority for all governments. Parallelly, investing in teachers will ensure that teachers and schools can adapt to all situations. The more teachers are trained, equipped and supported on distance and blended learning, the better they will be able to reach all their students,” added George Laryea Adjei.

“This is a critical investment we need to make for children as the region gears up for future waves of COVID-19. We need to build systems which can weather any storm and keep children learning, no matter the circumstances,” he added.

The UNICEF report also stated that in Sri Lanka, 69 per cent of parents of primary school children reported that their children were learning “less” or “a lot less.” In Pakistan, 23 per cent of younger children did not have access to any device that could support remote learning, it said.

Talking about school reopening, UNICEF India representative Yasmin Ali Haque said prolonged school closure due to COVID-19 has caused many children to miss out on learning, social interaction and playtime which are essential to their overall development and well being.

Safe and gradual reopening of schools in India is a welcome move as children learn best in person and this will help prevent further learning loss and alleviate some of the pscychological stress they are facing, she said.

“The safety element is critical. Teachers, parents, children and communities can work together along with the government, to put in place the protocols needed for children to return to schools and learn in a safe environment.”

We need to focus on rapidly building capacities of teachers who can support learning both in the classroom as well as at home more effectively.

We have examples from states like Bihar, where several devices are being purchased for students to support learning. Now is the time to plan and put the structures in place to transition children back into learning. We need to build back better and stronger, Haque added.

KALABURAGI: The BJP will use all techniques possible to come to power in the Kalaburagi Mahanagara Palike (KMP), state unit president Nalin Kumar Katil said here on Thursday.

Katil, who was here to participate in the ‘Greeting to elect Corporators’ programme, told the media persons that it is for the first time the BJP has won more seats in KMP. “Since no party has achieved their own majority, both BJP and Congress will play their own game to come to power and get the mayoral position in the KMP,” he said.

The minister refused to elaborate on the ‘techniques’ his party will adopt to come to power. Katil also said that dialogues are underway with the JDS on a possible alliance for KMP. “BJP is confident of becoming the ruling party,” he asserted.

GENEVA: Rich countries with large supplies of coronavirus vaccines should refrain from offering booster shots through the end of the year and make the doses available for poorer countries, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday, doubling down on an earlier appeal for a “moratorium” on boosters that has largely been ignored.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said he was ‘appalled’ after hearing comments Tuesday from a top association of pharmaceutical manufacturers that vaccine supplies are high enough to allow for both booster shots for people in well-supplied countries and first jabs in poorer countries that face shortages.

He said that’s already been the case. “I will not stay silent when companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world’s poor should be satisfied with leftovers,” he told a news conference.

“Because manufacturers have prioritized or been legally obliged to fulfill bilateral deals with rich countries willing to pay top dollar, low income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people.” Tedros had previously called for a moratorium on boosters through the end of September.

But wealthy countries, including Britain, Denmark, France, Greece, Germany, and Spain, have begun or are considering plans to offer third shots of two-dose vaccines to their vulnerable people such as the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.

Israel has been providing third doses to a wide swath of people who already received a full two-dose regimen months earlier.

And last month, US health officials recommended that all Americans get boosters to shore up their protection amid evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling. WHO officials insist the scientific justification for boosters remains unclear.

Tedros acknowledged that third doses might be necessary for at-risk groups, but said: “We do not want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people who are fully vaccinated.” US health officials are continuing to assess the science and utility of boosters, and there are growing indications that the US may miss the Biden administration’s September 20 target date for a wide rollout of extra shots for vaccinated people.

The WHO chief said he received a message of “clear support” from health ministers at a meeting of the influential Group of 20 countries this week for a commitment to help hit a WHO target that all countries vaccinate at least 40 per cent of their people by year’s end.

“A month ago, I called for a global moratorium on booster doses, at least until the end of September to prioritize vaccinating the most at risk people around the world who are yet to receive their first dose,” Tedros said.

“There has been little change in the global situation since then.” “So today, I’m calling for an extension of the moratorium until at least the end of the year to enable every country to vaccinate at least 40 per cent of its population,” he said.

The WHO says 5.5 billion coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered so far, but 80 per cent of those have been to upper- and middle-income countries.

Rich countries have also offered to donate 1 billion doses to other countries, but fewer than 15 per cent of those doses have “materialized,” Tedros said.

He noted that manufacturers have pledged to prioritize the UN-backed COVAX program, which aims to get vaccines to the neediest people in the world no matter how wealthy the country.

“We don’t want any more promises. We just want the vaccines,” the WHO chief said. Earlier Wednesday, COVAX managers again scaled back their target to ship doses this year, projecting about 1.4 billion doses will be available through the program by year-end down from about 1.8 billion previously.

They had originally hoped to ship 2 billion doses this year. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which co-runs the program, said COVAX has faced setbacks including export restrictions from hard-hit India, a key producer of vaccines, as well as regulatory hurdles for some vaccine candidates and manufacturing troubles elsewhere.

But it also said deliveries are ramping up strongly, and another 1.1 billion doses are expected to be available by year-end through the program, up from 330 million so far. Most of those doses have gone to or are destined for poorer countries.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations said Tuesday that about 1.5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses are now being produced every month, and cited projections that a total of 12 billion will have been produced by year-end.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a top adviser to Tedros, acknowledged that “some countries may be going ahead with decisions” to widely administer boosters, but that the WHO call for a moratorium “makes a real difference.” He said some countries, which he did not identify, have approached the WHO about whether booster policies could be delayed.

But admittedly, the WHO’s first call for a moratorium through September has not fixed the gaping imbalance in access to vaccines.

“(O)ur role is to make sure that we put forward the strongest possible arguments and way out of this pandemic and the way out of that is a moratorium and to extend it,” Aylward said.

“Because since the last time we called for it, the equity gap has gotten greater, the amount of vaccine available to low-income countries has gone down.”

BENGALURU: The performance of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the recent urban local body elections seems to be a cause of concern for Congress and JDS as they are concerned over the splitting of minority votes, that will benefit the BJP in future. AIMIM managed to win four seats, just one less than the JDS’ five in Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Belagavi corporation polls.

While Congress and JDS leaders do not recognise AIMIM as a big force in Karnataka, they do admit that division of even a small number of votes will make a difference in closely contested seats. “AIMIM secures 2,000-3,000 votes and that helps the BJP,” said a senior Congress leader, who also blamed the JDS for dividing minority votes. “It played spoilsport in the ULB elections, but that may not happen in the Assembly polls. However, the party will discuss both AIMIM and the JDS splitting minority votes,” the leader said.

JDS leader YSV Datta said they need to be cautious about the division of secular votes. KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed said there is an understanding between the BJP and AIMIM to divide votes. “It is BJP’s B-team,” he said. Congress and JDS may have to rework their election strategies, keeping the AIMIM factor in mind. But the AIMIM, buoyed by the response at Asaduddin Owaisi’s rallies and the results, is already planning to contest the upcoming zilla and taluk panchayat elections as well as 2023 Assembly polls.

“We will contest over 50 seats in the Assembly elections. Many said we will not win a single seat in the ULB elections, but we managed to win three seats in Hubballi-Dharwad and lost in three seats with a narrow margin. We also won one seat in Belagavi,” said AIMIM state president Usman Gani.

Gani dismissed the allegations that it is BJP’s B-team or dividing minority votes.AIMIM failed to make a mark in Kalaburagi, indicating that it is not an easy task for the party to woo minority voters in all seats, especially if the Congress is seen as a strong force to take on BJP.

CHANDIGARH: In view of farmers’ agitation in Karnal, the Haryana government on Thursday suspended the internet and SMS services in the district to “prevent any disturbance of peace and public order”.

Meanwhile, the internet and SMS services have remained disrupted in Karnal since Monday in view of the Mahapanchayat and call for gherao of the mini secretariat in the district in protest against lathi charge against the farmers on August 28.

The farmers continue their demonstration outside the secretariat after talks with the district administration failed over their call for action against officials involved in lathi-charge.

A Kisan Mahapanchayat was also held in Muzzafarnagar on Sunday against three farm laws by the Centre. It declared that they will campaign against the BJP in the upcoming assembly elections and the Mahapanchayat witnessed participation from various political parties.

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws.Farmer leaders and the Centre have held several rounds of talks but the impasse remains.  

NEW DELHI: India logged 37,875 new cases of coronavirus infection taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,30,96,718, while the active cases declined to 3,91,256, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The active cases comprise 1.18 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.48 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 1,608 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

As many as 17,53,745 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 53,49,43,093.

The daily positivity rate was recorded as 2.16 per cent.

It has been less than three per cent for last nine days The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 2.49 per cent.

It has been below three per cent for the last 75 days, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,22,64,051, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive has exceeded 70.75 crore according to the ministry.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

NEW DELHI: As the Taliban announced a caretaker Cabinet, former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said India cannot and should not do business with the government formed in Afghanistan.

Mullah Hasan Akhund has been named as the Interim Prime Minister, while Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who had led talks with the United States and signed the deal that led to America’s final withdrawal from Afghanistan, will be one of two deputies to Akhund.

“India cannot and shd not do business with this Taliban govt in Afghanistan,” Sinha tweeted after the news of the forming of a caretaker government came in.

Sinha’s remarks come weeks after he, in an, said India should be “open-minded” about dealing with the Taliban and suggested that it should open its embassy in Kabul and send back the ambassador

Noting that the people of Afghanistan have great love for India while Pakistan is not popular among them, Sinha had said that the Indian government should not conclude that the Taliban will place itself “in Pakistan’s lap” as every country furthers its own interests.

Sinha was the foreign minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but became a critic of the Modi government and quit the BJP. He is currently vice president of the Trinamool Congress.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted by media reports as saying that Amir Khan Muttaqi will be Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister while Mullah Yaqoob, son of Taliban’s founder Mullah Omar, will serve as the acting defence minister.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, will serve as acting interior minister in the interim government, the reports said.

RANCHI:  A row over the Jharkhand government’s decision to allot a separate room for namaz at the As s embly reached the Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday, with a PIL seeking to quash the notification by the Speaker.

Meanwhile, the Assembly was disrupted for several hours when BJP leaders continued to chant Hanuman Chalisa at the entrance of the building.

On September 2, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto notified that a room has allotted for offering namaz. Objecting BJP members demanded a separate be allotted to them as well to chant Hanuman Chalisa.

According to petitioner Bhairav Singh, buildings constructed using public funds could not be allotted for religious purposes as such acts violated the principle of secularism and the right to equality.

Singh also challenged the notification by Speaker, saying he had no power to allot any room for offering prayers to the people of any community.

Meanwhile, BJP continued its protest inside and outside the Assembly for third consecutive day, demanding the withdrawal of the notification. On Monday, BJP leaders performed bhajan, while on Tuesday they chanted Hanuman Chalisa at the entrance of the Assembly.

BJP Legislative Party leader Babulal Marandi said Hanuman Chalisa is being recited to relieve Jharkhand Assembly from trouble. BJP’s chief whip Viranchi Narayan, however, said they did not want to recite Hanumna Chalisa at the Assembly as it is a temple of democracy, but they were compelled by the government’s action.

Accusing Hemant Soren government of practicing the politics of appeasement, MLA Randheer Singh said they will continue reciting Hanuman Chalisa till the notification was withdrawn.

However, Speaker Mahto defended his action, saying the room has been allotted to members of all communities to offer prayers, and was not exclusively given to Muslims.

BJP MLAs sat on the stairs at the entrance of the Assembly and chanted the Hanuman Chalisa and party MLA Narayan Das was seen wearing a garland made of ‘belpatra’ (wood apple leaves).

As soon as the House assembled, they began to vociferously protest against the allotment of the namaz room and the state’s employment policy even as Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto repeatedly urged them to allow the House to function.

The unrelenting opposition members, however, continued to shout slogans during the question hour which lead to the adjournment of the House till 12.30 pm.

“No disrespect would be tolerated to the Chair. Beat me if you are angry, but don’t disrupt the proceedings,” Mahto was heard telling the protesting MLAs.

“Please go back to your seats . I am pained. The Chair is not a subject of mockery. Yesterday you behaved badly . This is the question of the faith of 3.5 crore people and your conduct gives pain,” he added.

In reply, BJP MLA C P Singh said though the Business Advisory Committee had decided to take up the employment policy issue it was changed.

“This (speaker’s statement) is an emotional statement. We are also sad. Speaker is supreme in the assembly but it hurts when we see that your behaviour is not impartial,” he told Mahto.

Amid the din, the speaker asked BJP MLA Bhanu Pratap Shahi to respect Hanuman Chalisa and not to use it for political gains.

He said may ‘Bajrang Bali’ grant wisdom to the agitating MLAs.

When the House reassembled after the adjournment, BJP members trooped into the well of the house and Singh demanded allocation of 30 minutes every Tuesday for recitation of Hanuman Chalisa.

“If a room can be alloted for Namaz, why can’t 30 minutes be allotted for Hanuman Chalisa? I take pride in being a Hindu,” Singh said.

Jharkhand Minister Mithlesh Thakur was heard voicing his protest and ruling JMM MLA Pradeep Yadav said that there should not be any politics in the name of God.

He demanded to know why BJP did not do so when it was in power in the state.

Mahto said the demand should come from majority of the speakers to which Singh immediately demanded to know which majority gave permission for a Namaz room in the Assembly.

The protest by BJP continued when the House reassembled at 2 pm.

Its members again stormed into the well of the house chanting slogans.

The House, however, took up the debate on the supplementary budget for 2021-22 amidst the din.

Ruckus by BJP over the allotment of a room for offering namaz in the assembly had disrupted proceedings on Monday as well.

The BJP is demanding the recall of the order pertaining to the allotment of the namaz room.

The speaker has allotted room number TW 348 for offering namaz, prompting demand from the BJP to build a Hanuman temple and places of worship of other religions in the assembly premises.

NEW DELHI: India logged 31,222 fresh cases of coronavirus infection taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,30,58,843, while the active cases were recorded below four lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,41,042 with 290 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The active cases have declined to 3,92,864 comprising 1.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.48 per cent, the ministry said.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.